The fourth season of the popular Yamaha International Piano series at Malvern Theatres concludes with a recital by internationally renowned concert artist Paul Lewis.

On Friday 2nd March, music lovers attending the Forum Theatre will have the opportunity to hear one of the finest pianists of his generation, as Paul Lewis performs a programme of works by Schubert as part of a two year project to perform all the mature piano works from the last six years of Schubert's life at major venues worldwide.

Yamaha’s International Piano recital series in association with Malvern Theatres has featured four internationally acclaimed pianists this season; Performances have included HJ Lim, who debuted the series on 22nd October 2011, Stephen Kovacevich on 2nd December 2011 and François-Frédéric Guy on 3rd February 2012. Previous seasons have included sellout concerts by Peter Donohoe, John Lill, Noriko Ogawa, Nikolai Demidenko, Angela Hewitt, Freddy Kempf, Stephen Hough, Benjamin Grosvenor, Artur Pizarro and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

Paul Lewis’s performance on Friday 2nd March will offer a fitting finale to the series that acknowledges and celebrates Yamaha pianos as the instruments of choice by leading concert artists at the highest level of classical repertoire at an increasing number of internationally renowned venues. Paul Lewis will be playing Yamaha's flagship new CFX concert grand piano and Yamaha’s Kumi Liley, Manager of Yamaha Artist Services Europe (London) comments, “We are absolutely thrilled with the ongoing success of the Yamaha International Piano Series and our partnership with Malvern Theatres. The recitals allow us to showcase our CFX concert grand in the hands of some of the world’s finest pianists."

Paul Lewis is a guest at many prestigious venues and festivals including the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Roque d’Antheron Piano Festival, the Rheingau Festival, and London’s Wigmore Hall where he has appeared on more than fifty occasions. He has performed with many of the world’s leading conductors including Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Sir Mark Elder, Sir Charles Mackerras, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Daniel Harding, Sir Andrew Davis, Andris Nelsons, Emmanuel Krivine, and Armin Jordan.

His many awards have included the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award, the South Bank Show Classical Music Award, the Diapason d’or de l’annee, two successive Edison awards, the 25th Premio Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, the "Preis Der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik", a Limelight Award in Australia, and three Gramophone awards, including Record of the Year in 2008. In 2009 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Southampton. His concert performances and Harmonia Mundi recordings of the complete Beethoven Sonatas, Concertos and the Diabelli Variations have earned him unanimous acclaim from all over the world, culminating in 2010 with the honour of becoming the first pianist in the history of the BBC Proms to perform all five Beethoven Concertos in a single Proms season.

Recent and forthcoming highlights include concerts in Europe and the US with the London Symphony Orchestra, performances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Philharmonic, Phiharmonia, NHK Symphony, Boston Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus and Tonhalle Orchestras, a tour of Spain with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and an extensive tour of the US with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Solo recitals have taken him to such major venues as London's Royal Festival Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Toppan Hall Tokyo, Orchestra Hall Chicago, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tonhalle Zurich, Festspielhaus Baden Baden, and the Auditorio Nacional Madrid.

Paul Lewis studied with Ryszard Bakst at Chethams School of Music and Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before going on to study privately with Alfred Brendel. Along with his wife the Norwegian cellist Bjørg Lewis, he is artistic director of Midsummer Music, an annual chamber music festival held in Buckinghamshire, UK.

Malvern Theatres marketing director Fred Moroni said, “Malvern Theatres is once again grateful to Yamaha for its support, which has helped secure a distinguished line up of internationally renowned pianists. We look forward to this final recital of the season and sincerely hope this wonderful partnership with Yamaha will continue to bring the very best pianists here for many years to come.”

Ticket prices: £14 - £21

Starts: 7.30 pm Venue: Forum Theatre

Recitals are now available for booking. For more information and to purchase tickets online, please visit www.malvern-theatres.co.uk or call the box office on 01684 892277.